Making The Case For Regulation

Amber Leslie used to be a regular in this crowd, but stopped going a couple of months ago after she took a pill she thought was ecstasy but turned out to be laced with crystal meth. She ended up spending the night in the hospital.

It was enough to make the 20-year-old change her habits — and she’s now worried about the teens as young as 14 who continue to party in the rave-like atmosphere, where drugs come with the territory.

“I’m just worried about some kid doing the same thing I did, or taking too much and dying,” said Leslie, adding it’s not uncommon for drug dealers to peddle their products right in the establishment. “I’ve seen it. I’ve even done it.” Everyone at the Sunset Room is “pretty much on something,” said Leslie, saying the most popular drugs are ecstasy, cocaine, LSD and ketamine, a cat tranquilizer. [Times Colonist]

Ms. Leslie’s experience would not have happened if she was able to purchase MDMA (ecstacy) that was regulated in its production, labeling and distribution. It happened because such measures do not exist in a prohibition model.

When I spoke against Bill C-15 at Committee, I was grilled by the MP from Edmonton West. He spoke of a young girl in his riding that had died due to ecstacy overdose. I didn’t tell him then (for various reasons I felt it not the right point to make at the time) but the likelihood is that the girl did not ingest “real” ecstacy but, like Ms. Leslie, an adulterated or other product entirely.

This is a real issue and one that we, as advocate for regulation, need to be forceful about: the continued support of prohibition has real-world consequences such as death. I did advise the Honorable Member of that fact, linking support for C-15 with increased violence and homicides. People die because of prohibition and we should never lose sight of that fact.